Eddie McGuire said his comments on 3AW radio yesterday were "a slip of the tongue" and he has apologised.

"If people accept it was a genuine slip of the tongue and my apology is heartfelt...what was meant was something completely different...then I'm prepared to keep going and work hard at what I do," he told ABC's AM.

Bonner Committee chair Charlie King spoke on ABC Local Radio this morning, saying McGuire has escaped full condemnation because of his position of power.

"Do you know what bothers me about this? The powerful members of society are almost untouchable when it comes to these kinds of things," Charlie said.

"Everyone's afraid if they say anything about Eddie McGuire, it's going to come back to bite them on the bum because he's the man who signs the cheques.

"I'm not in that space. I'm in a space where I look at what people say and see that's unacceptable. It offends me, it worries me for my children, it worries me for my family, it worries me for my community and for all Australians if people are allowed to say those things and we excuse them."

Charlie said he hopes the AFL will use its internal process for dealing with vilification to decide whether Eddie McGuire should stand down or not.

"What Eddie McGuire said was wrong, wrong, wrong, unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable. That's the end of the story," Charlie said.

"Anyone who associates Adam Goodes with King Kong has got some problems.

"Eddie can come up with all his 'slip of the tongue' comments he wants, but what bothers me is this rush of support that comes from all points of Australia where people rush in, and if they could get a warm towel and a bex they would be at his feet now saying 'Eddie you'll be okay'.

"That's not what we want to happen in Australia, that's not how we want to see Indigenous players viewed.

"Eddie McGuire needs to front that issue, he needs to have a good think about that."

Charlie also called on Indigenous football star Michael Long to defend Adam Goodes.

"I heard the comment where Eddie McGuire said he spoke to 'my mate' Michael Long. That sort of discussion just bothers me.

"Michael needs to defend Adam Goodes here for a moment. Let's have a look at how Adam Goodes is feeling, how is his family feeling, having this icon of sport in Australia compared to King Kong.

"It's absolute nonsense and unacceptable comments from Eddie McGuire and more people need to take him up on it reckon."